


Say Something

by MsJoann



Series: A Wedding to Forget [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Companion Piece, F/M, Happy Ending?, Marinette’s getting married, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Alya, One Shot, POV Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Song Lyrics, Supportive Alya Césaire, Wedding, but it’s not to Adrien, but maybe in a sequel, but this fic is full of idiots, for some reason, heard this and thought of MLB, literally just angst, normally Alya’s the smart one, not in this one, which is New
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:08:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27188419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsJoann/pseuds/MsJoann
Summary: He looked away, pain flashing in his shining green eyes. Her lips curled as the irrational anger in her grew. This was it. This was his last chance. Say something, damn it!“I’m happy for you,” he said finally and gave her an all too genuine look. “You’re going to be a stunning bride.”Song fic based on “Say Something” by A Great Big World. Companion to “Marry Me.”
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: A Wedding to Forget [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984714
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	Say Something

**Author's Note:**

> This is a companion fic to “Marry Me.” You don’t have to read that to understand this, or vice versa. Can be read as a stand-alone.

_Say something, I'm giving up on you_

Marinette stared blankly at her reflection as Juleka and Alya circled around her with wide smiles and make-up brushes. She was gorgeous. Even she could admit that she was. Her friends had done great. A perfect balance of modesty and passion, timid and bold, dark and light. It was exactly how she’d imagined she looked on her wedding day. 

Except she had imagined a smile on her lips. 

_I'll be the one, if you want me to_

Her mind drifted to the night before. They met up for patrol, as they always did, bounding across rooftops, playfully bantering, laughing together as they pretended that everything wasn’t about to change. That this wasn’t the end of them as they knew it. For a moment they were teenagers again, whose biggest problems were chemistry class and a petty butterfly man. 

She’d reached out one last time- praying he wouldn’t let her go. Hoping more than anything that he’d fight for her. She would have been his in a second.

“You still haven’t RSVP'd,” she said, instantly dissipating the light mood they’d forced themselves into. His face turned dark for a split second and she thought he was going to finally do it. Yell, cry, spit passive aggressive words- _anything_

Instead he smirked. “I don’t need to,” he said. “I’m your partner, I’ll always be there for you.” 

_Anywhere, I would've followed you_

“I’ll follow you anywhere, m’lady.”

The tenderness in his voice made her heart constrict painfully. She forced back the bile rising in her throat. 

_Why didn’t you fight for me then!?_ She wanted to scream. _Why did you give up so easily? Was I not good enough?_

She met his eyes with a smoldering blue stare, trying to convey her meaning without saying the words.

_Say something, I'm giving up on you_

He looked away, pain flashing in his shining green eyes. Her lips curled as the irrational anger in her grew. This was it. This was his last chance. _Say something, dammit!_

She wanted to shake him by the shoulders and force him to choose her. Instead she waited for him to speak. 

“I’m happy for you,” he said finally and gave her an all too genuine look. “You’re going to be a stunning bride.” Instantly the rage coiling in her stomach snapped and she shrunk back into herself, misery taking its place. 

_And I am feeling so small_

“Right,” she said, fighting back tears. “Thanks, Kitty.” He grinned and she hated the way her stomach flipped in response. No matter how hard she tried to force it otherwise, her heart only ever beat for him. She’d started to give up on that ever changing. 

_It was over my head_

It was all too much. She felt everything in that moment: love, hate, pain, sadness, regret, resignation…

She couldn’t do this. Why did she think she could do this? Why did she think she could ever look this man in the eyes and claim not to love him? Why did she ever think he might love her?

This was stupid. He was 14 when he declared his love for her. They were kids and he moved on. She moved on. At least, that’s what she told herself.

_I know nothing at all_

She felt like an idiot. Standing there on a rooftop, on the precipice of her wedding day, still pining for her collège crush. As if he’d suddenly change his mind and sweep her away to some island together. 

“It’s getting late, Bug,” he said, sullen eyes falling over to the horizon where the sun had already long ago disappeared, leaving not even a sliver of light. 

She found herself relating painfully. 

“Big day tomorrow,” he said, still not looking back at her. “You should probably get some sleep. Don’t want to look puffy on your wedding day.” He snickered to himself, the laugh sounding not quite genuine. 

Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. 

_And I will stumble and fall_

Marinette was startled out of her thoughts when she felt something cold run down her face. She realized her eyes were watery, filled with tears ready to be shed with a single drop already making its way down her cheek. She blinked rapidly in hopes of forcing them back but more only came. Every time she closed her eyes she saw flashes of sparkling green gems that cut her from the inside. 

“Oh Mari,” Alya cooed when she noticed the raven-haired girl’s tears. She wrapped her arms around her from behind. “I know, girl.” Marinette tensed slightly but Alya didn’t notice. “It’s so much more real when you put on the makeup. Remember my wedding? We had to reapply 3 times!” She laughed at the memory and gave Marinette a comforting squeeze, who relaxed slightly. _Right,_ she thought. _She thinks I’m just emotional because it’s my wedding day_. 

The rest of the girl gang gathered around her, a few tearing up themselves.

“Oh Marinette!” Mylène said. “You’re so beautiful! I’m so happy for you. You deserve all the happiness in the world!” A few others nodded and voiced their agreements. 

Happiness. 

She could do that, right?

_I'm still learning to love_

She could love him. She had to love him. She was _marrying_ him. She could come to love him, like she’d come to love Chat before the reveal. It was the same, she just needed to be patient.

(It wasn’t the same, she was out of patience.) 

_Just starting to crawl_

Marinette stood up slowly onto two shaky legs. She could do this. He was a good- great, really- man. She could be happy with him. She just had to get through this day. 

She didn’t linger on the sick feeling in her stomach that _this_ was how she was thinking about her wedding day. 

_Say something, I'm giving up on you_

Marinette walked behind the privacy partition in the hotel room and slowly slipped on the dress she’d been designing since the age of 10. She forced herself to look in the mirror as Alya did up the back. More tears formed in her eyes.

It wasn’t right. 

_I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you_

Her hands smoothed over the folds of the dress and she forced back the regret that once again filled her. 

She’d been too late. She knew it from the moment she first started to feel for her partner. It was the same time he’d stopped calling her bugaboo. She’d hated that nickname with a fiery passion. Now she just wanted to hear him say it one more time. 

She was too late again when they finally revealed their identities, both already in relationships with other people. 

_Anywhere, I would've followed you_

She would have broken up with her boyfriend in a flash if Adrien had asked. He never did. The nicknames and flirting completely stopped for a while. That was probably the worst month of her life, until he finally broke up with Kagami.

For a moment she had allowed herself to hope he’d come for her. 

_Say something, I'm giving up on you_

3 years later and it was clear that wasn’t happening.

Marinette turned with a forced smile and hugged Alya before she could notice how it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m so lucky to have you as a best friend,” she said, allowing the warmth of someone she loved to drown out her sorrow. Alya sniffled.

“Me too, girl.”

_And I will swallow my pride_

Marinette breathed in and stood up straight, composing herself. “How do I look?”

“Absolutely gorgeous,” Alya replied. “Are you ready?” 

No.

No she wasn’t.

“As I’ll ever be.” 

_You're the one that I love_

The whole car ride her mind replayed her memories like a “best of” reel. Flashes of battles and late-night patrol played through her mind all the way back to when their eyes had first met. She hadn’t realized it at the time, but at that moment her soul alighted. She'd found her soulmate. She was sure of it. 

_And I'm saying goodbye_

But it was too late. It was too late to imagine the life they could have had. It was too late to wonder ‘what if?’ They were never meant to end up together. Fate kept them apart as much as it forced them together. 

She had to accept that. 

_Say something, I'm giving up on you_

She floated through the next hour or so as she welcomed the guests, only really half there until her father was taking her arm and the wedding march played. For a brief moment she panicked, instantly knowing this was a mistake, but she carried on, reverting to a state of half-consciousness, living like in a lucid dream. She stepped through the doors of the church with a painful fake smile plastered on her face. 

She could be happy. She had to believe she would be.

_And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you_

Despite herself, she found her eyes wandering to the rows of people watching her. There weren’t many. It was a small service with only close family and friends, but she was looking for just one person. 

_And anywhere, I would have followed you_

She mentally psyched herself up to seeing his charming smile and dazzling eyes as she scanned the row of groomsmen (she may have had a _bit_ of a part in making him one) for his familiar mop of blonde hair. 

_Oh, oh, oh, oh say something, I'm giving up on you_

Suddenly she felt her insides turn to ice, woefully unprepared for the sight that beheld her. Of all the worries she had about how she’d get through this day, how she’d get married to another man with him right there, how she’d keep her composure- this was all too much worse, because despite frantically looking in every direction, horror written on her face, she couldn’t find her kitty. 

_Say something, I'm giving up on you_

He didn’t come. 

_Say something_

**Author's Note:**

> Boy oh boy was that an angst train.
> 
> Angsty endings making me too sad to bear so I might make a sequel with a happy ending. 
> 
> In case you’re wondering, the groom is probably not Luka. They briefly dated but broke up, which is also said in “Marry Me.” It doesn’t really matter though because the groom doesn’t play much of a role in either fic. Other than being a major source of angst, obviously.


End file.
